This study investigated the utility and effectiveness of a simple dictation test for placement of students in a university's summer English-as-a-Second-Language program. The dictation test was explored as an alternative to the traditional oral interview, which had shown some problems of interrater reliability and consistency, resulting in…

The KeyMath Revised is a power test that measures the understanding and application of mathematics skills and concepts. It is individually administered and is intended for students from kindergarten through the ninth grade to determine student mastery of mathematics concepts. The revised version is designed to be user-friendly for the student and…

Assessment results were examined for 2,351 students in a large Southwestern school district over a 4-year period. Assessment in the first year consisted of the full battery of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) administered to all third graders in the district. In the following year (grade four), the same students participated in a…

A discussion of student and program assessment in the context of Chinese language instruction looks at theory and methods of assessment, and proposes that norm-referenced language proficiency testing is inadequate to evaluate student achievement and program effectiveness. It is further proposed that criterion-referenced tests are more appropriate…

This annotated bibliography presents descriptions of sources related to the construction, use, and scoring of portfolios for assessment. Both student and professional staff portfolios are considered, as are theoretical issues and practical examples of portfolio use. Articles cover all grade levels and many subject matter areas. There are two…

Art education in The Netherlands, which had been dominated by an expressive approach that emphasized creative self-expression, has recently changed its emphasis to reflect a discipline-based approach and the wish for more accountability in art instruction. Final examinations have been produced for secondary art classes, with the testing of art…

The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) is a partnership of the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Stanford University, The RAND Corporation, the University of Pittsburgh, the Educational Testing Service, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.…

The relationship between test preparation and academic performance on a high school graduation test was studied using data from the 1995-96 Louisiana Graduation Exit Examination (GEE). Test preparation was measured based on students' responses concerning whether they prepared well for the test or not. Academic performance was measured through five…

As part of a project formulating optimal rules for decision making in computer assisted instructional systems in which the computer is used as a decision support tool, an approach that simultaneously optimizes classification of students into two treatments, each followed by a mastery decision, is presented using the framework of Bayesian decision…

The perspectives in these essays present an examination of the Kentucky educational reform effort, with an examination of its rationale, various facets, and the reactions to its implementation. The ambitious assessment system includes multiple-choice and open-ended items, performance tasks, and portfolio assessments. The following are included:…

Many private schools administer some type of standardized test to prospective students in an attempt to assess the student's potential for success in high school. The test results are used to assist the school in deciding whether to accept the student or to assist in the placement of the student in the appropriate curriculum level. This study…

This paper summarizes the results of a study of the local consequences of implementing statewide minimum competency tests. For American education to be the best in the world, the use of statewide and nationwide standardized testing as a primary policy tool for stimulating reform must be discontinued. Second, school district responses to such…

A preliminary investigation has been made of some claims regarding alternative assessment. Using the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS)--Middle Grades Mathematics Performance Assessment as a platform, the study examined how alternative assessment operates in actual practice. Early findings are presented in the following areas: (1)…

This study compared preparing science teachers' attitudes towards tests, evaluation and mathematics to those of preparing non-science teachers (N=76) in an upper division psychology course at a state college in eastern Massachusetts. These three attitudes were measured using semantic differentials that assessed both the cognitive and affective…

An attempt is made to separate facts from opinions based on review of a representative sample of contemporary writings on alternative assessment. A summary listing of 15 statements perceived to be factual is offered, followed by opinions of the author. These items cover: (1) the historical background and origins of alternative assessments; (2)…